God has given me the privilege of serving as editor of one of the longest continually published papers in the United States for 26 years. The Baptist and Reflector was established as The Baptist in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1835.
I have been blessed to be a part of the heyday of Baptist state papers — which I consider having begun in the 1950–60s and lasting through the early 2000s. I joined the B&R in 1988 as associate editor and served for 10 years in that role before becoming editor. Our circulation remained strong through the recession of 2007–09.
In those years, Baptist state papers were held in high regard by not only Baptists in the pew but also Baptist pastors and denominational leaders. I developed a love for the ministry of Baptist papers not long after I became director of communications for the former Southern Baptist Education Commission in 1982 (which later became a casualty of the SBC restructuring in the mid-1990s). I wrote stories which were picked up by Baptist Press, then a news service for Baptist and secular papers.
A few years later, I got my “dream” job with the B&R and God has blessed me in a way I never could have imagined.
I have seen the progression of state papers from manual and electric typewriters and typesetting equipment which involved “cutting and pasting” copy for printing plates to state-of-the art technology which has radically changed how newspapers are published.
Growth in technology
But for all the good that technology and the internet gave us in the beginning, the growth in technology has hurt Baptist papers in recent years.
Three decades ago, Baptist papers were print only. Nearly every Baptist state convention had a print publication that helped report on the missions and ministry work in its area of focus, and most were weekly. Now, only five or so state Baptist papers still have a true print publication (and none are weekly). Most state publications are online only.
Out of necessity, Baptist papers have formed partnerships with each other to tell the story of Baptists in their state, across the nation and around the world. Our paper has a strong partnership with The Alabama Baptist and The Baptist Paper, the only nationally focused printed newspaper for Baptists. While all three of our papers publish every other week, we are not competitors. We are cooperating publications with a commitment to keep Baptists informed of what is going on throughout the denomination with a healthy focus on our joint missions endeavors via accurate, truthful reporting.
Still, the internet has made everyone a “journalist,” or at least they think they are. Bloggers and other writers populate the internet with what they call “news” but more often than not is purely opinion or hearsay.
Baptist publications have traditionally operated under the principle that journalists should be held to high standards of truth.
R.C.B. Howell, who founded and edited the B&R (then known as The Baptist) for 12 years, wrote in October 1845, “The religious press is a noble engine for the dissemination of truth and the establishment of proper morals. … The living voice may arouse generous emotions, may produce high and holy determination, but it soon passes away. … Not so, however, with the printed page. It lives and talks to present and future generations” (“Telling the Truth in Love: A Brief History the Baptist and Reflector” by Wm. Fletcher Allen, p. 20).
‘Telling the truth in love’
That principle is why papers such as the Baptist and Reflector, The Alabama Baptist, The Baptist Paper and a few others still exist. We are committed to the longtime Baptist newspaper axiom of “telling the truth in love.”
As my career comes to an end, I am grateful that the plan for now is to continue the B&R in print. My prayer is that state papers will continue to tell the story of how Baptists are sharing the good news of Jesus Christ until He returns. Our reason for being is needed as much today, if not more, than it was over a century ago.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lonnie Wilkey, retiring editor of Tennessee’s Baptist and Reflector. This editorial will appear in the Nov. 21 edition of The Baptist Paper. Click here to subscribe.
